The
Book of Galatians Chapter 1
Commentary by Ron Beckham
Verse 1. "Paul, an apostle (not sent from men nor through
the agency of man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who
raised Him from the dead),"
Paul was an "apostle", a word in
common usage at the time, which simply meant "one that is sent" by a
person of higher authority. Someone on a mission for someone else. A
slave would be "sent" by a master on a particular assignment. The
word had already come into special use in the Church, and was used
not only of the original 12 (then 11) apostles but also included
Paul and a few others.
Paul was NOT sent by some group of
people (like the leaders in Jerusalem – though they blessed him and
encouraged him on his way), but instead he was directly sent out by
and through God the Father and by Jesus Christ. It was because of
the power of God that Jesus was raised from the dead, and it was
through the same power that Paul was sent to the Galatians.
Verse 2. "and all the brethren who are with me, to the
churches of Galatia:"
Note that Paul was not alone, for
the "brethren" were with him. We can do the work of God alone, for
God is with us. For example prayer to God in the night is often done
by a person alone. But it is not natural for us to minister alone.
This need for others was seen in Moses, and though it would have
been God’s preference for him to do the work by himself, Moses was
given his brother Aaron as a companion. One of the people with Paul
would have been Dr. Luke, who wrote the Books of Luke and Acts. Paul
had many who walked with him and cared for him.
Galatia was a region in Asia Minor,
within what is now called the nation of Turkey. Acts 16:6 recounts
Paul’s first visit to the area, and he visited them a second time,
as seen in Acts 18:23. In that second visit, he was "strengthening"
those he had visited the first time. A Church had grown by the touch
of God and through the ministry of Paul.
Verse 3. "Grace to you and peace from God our Father and
the Lord Jesus Christ,"
If you could have anything you
want, what would it be? Actually, there is nothing greater; nothing
more valuable than the grace of God. Money is just paper, and youth
fades like a rose, but the grace of God lasts forever. You can only
have the peace of God through the grace of God, abundantly given in
Christ Jesus. Our world and all of us in it are condemned by the
Judgment of God, for He is holy and we are not. But the price is
paid in Christ and we are given His grace.
It is very similar to walking out
of a store with merchandise in your hand. If it is paid for, you can
walk out with it and it is yours – nobody cares! But if full and
adequate payment has not been made, you are a lawbreaker, subject to
punishment by the authorities. Jesus Christ has paid the price in
full, and you can walk in-and-out of the store with merchandise in
hand. You only have to have faith in Him, and His grace is yours.
Verse 4.
"who gave Himself for our sins so that He might rescue us from this
present evil
age, according to the will of our God
and Father,"
As Martin Luther pointed out, Paul
(and the Holy Spirit who inspired him), could have said here, "you
are rescued because of the works you have done" but he did not. Our
works are insufficient, but because of what HE has done, we have the
grace of God (as stated in verse 3). He gave Himself for our sins,
utterly and completely paying the price for every person that has
ever lived or will live. Nothing we could do would be anything like
that Gift.
Our sins are so great, as this
verse indicates, and this world (age) is so evil, that nothing of
this world (including ourselves) can ever save us. Only Jesus (in
the giving of Himself) sets us free. In Him, you can be DELIVERED
from all the evil that is in this place. God the Father WILLS that
this will happen, and you only have to BELIEVE in the Son and it is
true for you.
Verse 5. "to whom be the glory forevermore. Amen."
The Hebrew writings of the Old
Testament are filled with expressions of praise and gratitude to
God. Paul knew the grace and the glory of God, and as his ancestors
the prophets did before him, he gave glory to the Lord. He had
previously "persecuted the Church of God beyond measure and tried to
destroy it" (Galatians 1:13). He loved being a Jew, and as he said,
"I… was exceedingly zealous for the traditions of my fathers"
(Galatians 1:14). But he had come to love God more than anything of
this world.
Now he knew the grace of God, so
eloquently expressed in his life through the power and love of Jesus
Christ. Paul had been surprised by grace. He, the former murderer,
was saved by the mercy of God. It was amazing! Actually, it is
amazing that ANY of us are saved, and we should all say of the
Father and Son, "to whom be the glory forevermore." For God is
worthy of our praise. To be in Christ is a miracle – let us praise
our Lord.
Verse 6.
"I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by
the
grace of Christ, for a different
gospel;"
The "Judaizers" had crept into
Galatia and polluted the new believers in that place. These were men
who taught that Gentiles had to become Jews in order to be saved,
and they hated Paul because he believed that faith in God through
Christ is sufficient for salvation. These Galatians had been saved
through faith, by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and yet now
they were turning to another belief-system (another "gospel").
There is no other "good news"
("gospel"), for if they (and the rest of us) are not saved through
simple faith in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, there is no
salvation at all. If we start attempting to base our salvation on a
system of works (like circumcism, or baptism, or becoming a Jew, or
being a member of a certain church, or whatever), we become
deserters from the grace of God and prove that we are not really
His.
Verse 7.
"which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing
you and
want to distort the gospel of Christ."
There is no other gospel (good
news); there is only our Lord and what He has done for us. Jesus
Christ died for your sins and He became your substitute, dying in
your place. He rose from the dead, demonstrating that death no
longer has any power over you. There are always those around us who
come along and attempt to turn the gospel of Christ into something
else - but it isn’t necessary. It isn’t you who must do something.
Instead, it’s Him who has done something for you.
The "Judaizers" had come to Galatia
and they distorted the clear teachings of Paul. They said something
like "There’s more for you; you’ve got to believe OUR way, if you’re
going to be saved." The world has many who teach that you must
belong to some religion or another, and/or do things THEIR way. But
Jesus said, " THIS
is the work of God, that you BELIEVE in Him whom He has sent"
(John 6:29). Just trust in our Lord.
Verse 8. "But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should
preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he
is to be accursed!"
I have a relative who tends to
"self-medicate" herself, as her doctor puts it. She doesn’t like all
those medicines and periodically decides she does not need one or
two of them. When her doctor finds out (symptoms develop), she
admits she "did it again" and her doctor becomes furious: "Why GO to
a doctor, if you won’t respond to what he says(?)", he asks. The
Galatians had been given the sweet and pure "medicine" of Christ,
who heals our broken hearts, but they had turned away from Him who
would heal them.
Paul had clearly and simply given
them the gospel (good news) of Jesus Christ. Now he says, "If
ANYBODY (a person of earth), or ANYTHING (an angel from somewhere
else) tells you something different, he or it is to be cursed by
Almighty God." Even if Paul himself, he continued, suddenly went
crazy and gave them bad information, HE would rather be damned than
mislead them. Placing your trust in Christ will save you. Your
"good" works, no matter how commendable, will not.
Verse 9. "As we have said before, so I say again now, if
any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received,
he is to be accursed!"
Paul is essentially repeating (for
emphasis) what he just said in previous verses, which was a common
Hebrew method of emphasis, as we see all through the Old Testament.
And the idea Paul expressed was not unique. Moses said "You shall
not add to the word which I command you, nor take anything from it"
(Deuteronomy 4:2). Solomon said, "Every word of God is pure"
(Proverbs 30:5), and he continued "Do not add to His words, lest He
reprove you" (Proverbs 30:6).
Much the same is expressed in
Revelation 22:19 – "If anyone takes away from the words of this Book
of Prophesy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life."
Those who teach others must do so
out of genuine love for the God who has written His Book and love
for those who are taught. He did not give us this Book so that we
might speculate about it, but instead that we might: 1) be brought
to Christ, and 2) accurately present it to one another.
Verse 10. "For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of
God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to
please men, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ."
Paul uses much the same language in
1 Thessalonians 2:4, where he points out that he was "entrusted by
God" with the gospel (good news) about Christ, and so he spoke, "not
as pleasing men, but God who tests our hearts". And he continued (1
Thessalonians 2:5), "for neither at any time did we use flattering
words", nor was any of this a "cloak for covetousness". When we
speak, we must honestly report the truth of this Word, and never
teach for personal gain or the flattery of men.
People tend to listen to people
with titles like "Father, Pastor, Rabbi, Reverend", or such, when in
fact some of them are not the servants of Christ. The proof is in
the motivation, but since we have difficulty reading their "hearts",
we must look at what they say and do. If they take you away from
simple trust in Christ and away from the words of His Book, they are
not His servants and you should not listen to them.
Verse 11. "For I would have you know, brethren, that the
gospel which was preached by me is not according to man."
"I didn’t do it" is the perennial
cry of the guilty who long to be found innocent! And it is true
here, but for a different reason. Paul did not create any of this,
nor did any other person, any more than we can accuse Moses of
inventing the Law. "They didn’t do it" – and that’s the truth. Jesus
is the truth (John 14:6), and He sent His Holy Spirit to be the
Author of all that is written in this Book we call the Bible.
Paul himself had responded to the
words he wrote to Timothy, "Be diligent to present yourself approved
to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, right dividing the
word of God" (2 Timothy 2:15). The words of Scripture are not from
any man; they are from the Holy Spirit of God. They were written
through men, but were NOT OF the men who wrote them. And so WE must
teach His Word "NOT according to man" but by the will of God.
Verse 12. "For I neither received it from man, nor was I
taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ."
As stated previously, Paul (then
called Saul) was shocked by the grace that is in Christ. Acts
Chapter 9 is an excellent look into the grace of God, for Paul was
riding along the road to Damascus with papers in his hand, giving
him human authority to persecute the Church. Suddenly he was blinded
by the light of God and given this gospel (good news) of Christ,
which he was to preach to the Gentiles (nations).
He was blinded that he might see
anew. His reliance on himself was taken away that he might trust in
God. His direction was changed, that he might now follow the Lord.
He was taken from being a murderer and made into a man who would
give others the life that is in Christ. None of this was from him or
any other person, and he had been precisely the opposite of what he
became. And we have seen that this Book, the Bible, is not of man,
but is the revelation of Jesus Christ the Lord.
Verse 13.
"For you have heard of my former manner of life in Judaism, how I
used to
persecute the church of God beyond
measure and tried to destroy it;"
Paul (Saul) had been an EXCELLENT
persecutor of the church. Right after Stephen was killed, we are
told that, "As for Saul (Paul), he made havoc of the church,
entering every house, and dragging off men and women, committing
them to prison" (Acts 8:3). Because of him, the church was
"scattered", but "those who were scattered went everywhere,
preaching the word" (Acts 8:4). Persecution just does not work, by
the way, because the persecutors are not dealing with men, but with
God.
Paul found that out the hard way,
but, as stated, he had earned excellent credentials as a persecutor
of people like you and me. He was feared by Christians, and he
earned the respect of his countrymen, the Jews. He was just as
zealous in hatred as he now was in love. You have to LISTEN to a man
like this, for he was as AGAINST the gospel as any person who ever
lived, and yet he was CHANGED by the power of God, which
demonstrates strongly that the power of God is real. Just as real
for you and me as it was for Paul.
Verse 14. "and I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of
my contemporaries among my countrymen, being more extremely zealous
for my ancestral traditions."
Every once in awhile, in a
generation, you find a few people who just EXCEL. They are full of
zeal and you know that someone else in their role would not do as
well. Such a man was Winston Churchill. You have to wonder – Could
England have stood, if it had not been for the words of this
wonderful man? Probably, for God would have made it so, but in Prime
Minister Churchill, you find someone ALIVE in a way that few other
men are.
Such a man was Paul the Apostle. He
LOVED being a Jew. Everybody else was just going through the
motions, looking for leadership, but here came Paul, who saw the
danger the church presented. He grabbed the torch of Judaism, and
flung it into the face of this new Christianity that had just come
into being. He would crush the bud, he thought, before it opened and
became a rose.
Verse 15. "But when God, who had set me apart even from my
mother's womb and called me through His grace, was pleased"
God in Christ had Paul in mind for
literally decades of his life. Where was Paul in the years that
Jesus Christ walked on this earth? Why, he was simply a bright young
Jewish man, who happened to have been born as a Roman citizen (a
rare honor), and received a first class education under the Rabban
Gamaliel. He was a Pharisee, an "up and comer" among those around
him. Paul had PLANS for his life and he was achieving them!
And then, along came Christ. Paul
was surprised, but God was not. Many years before, the midwife
shouted to the mother, "It’s a boy!" and Saul was born. They
educated him and made plans for his life, just as HE made plans, but
God had something better. The GRACE OF GOD would be his. Did free
choice exist for Paul in any of this? Oh yes. Paul could have said
"No" to the grace of God, but God had selected His man well, and He
was pleased with the ultimate "yes" of Paul the Apostle.
Verse 16. "to reveal His Son in me so that I might preach
Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with flesh and
blood,"
Jesus Christ (His Son) came into
Paul and his life, in order that God’s purposes might be done
through the man (and because God loved him). The Father has the same
intention for you, just as He does for me, and for all that are in
the body of Christ. Paul, who happened to be a Jew, was called to
preach Jesus Christ to the Gentiles. Your call may be different but
God’s methodology and intention is the same. There is a CALLING of
God on your life, and He will realize that call in and through you.
Paul’s response was interesting and
it is what ours should be. He didn’t just ask people (flesh and
blood) what they thought, but he instead trusted in God. He looked
to the Holy Spirit and was led by Him. This man of Law had become a
man of God’s grace, and it is the same for you and for me. God wants
to take us out of mere religious formality and place us into the
kingdom of His Son. We are to look to the Lord and He will bring it
to pass.
Verse 17. "nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were
apostles before me; but I went away to Arabia, and returned once
more to Damascus."
Paul’s response to the "Judaizers"
who didn’t like his teaching about the grace (unmerited favor) of
God, was to point out that he was sent by God: 1) to the people (the
Gentiles) he was serving, 2) to teach precisely the message (of
faith) he had been giving. He was showing THEM to be false (actually
they did it to themselves), which was necessary because they had
accused HIM of being a false teacher. If he turned out to be right
(he was right), it would be THEM who were false, and not the Paul
they were accusing.
Paul was never one to curry favor
from other people. As a Jew who persecuted Christians, he was way
out there on the edge, ahead of others in his zeal for Israel. Then
he was confronted with the reality that he had been wrong and Jesus
Christ really IS the Messiah, the Son of God. Without hardly missing
a beat, he continued on into Arabia, returning again to Damascus,
and began 1) getting to know God who had surprised him with His
grace, and 2) telling others about Jesus. He did NOT go to Jerusalem
first, for he KNEW he had personally been chosen by the risen Lord.
Verse 18. "Then three years later I went up to Jerusalem
to become acquainted with Cephas, and stayed with him fifteen days."
"Cephas" is the Aramaic name for
"Peter" (which translates as "rock"), and this was the disciple
(student) of Jesus who briefly walked on water and later denied
Jesus three times. Peter was a fine man, full of faith in the Lord
Jesus, but flawed like the rest of us. Peter was a key person among
the apostles (sent ones) of the Lord, as they came to be called, and
it would be logical to start with this man, if you wanted to be
"sent out" from a human-based ministry organization.
But Paul did not need people at all
in that regard, because he had been sent by Jesus Christ to do
precisely what he had been doing for the past 3-years. That’s why it
took him so long to get around to meeting Peter - because it isn’t
men who must send us, but God, who equips us for the work we must
do. God selects the person and then enables them to do the work.
Organizations are fine and so are people, but we must be sent to do
God’s work by God Himself.
Verse 19. "But I did not see any other of the apostles
except James, the Lord's brother."
These verses are very much like
listening to just one end of a telephone call. Paul was responding
to attacks on the character of his ministry, from those who did not
like him. We can INFER what the other side of the "telephone call"
was about, but the precise attacks upon him are not precisely known.
The inference in these verses is that other "ministers" were
accusing him of having a ministry that was from men, instead of
having one that came from God.
He specifically refutes that charge
in these verses, in an interesting manner. He simply gives his
testimony, that GOD called him to the Gentiles (verse 16). After a
long time of seeking the Lord and answering His call, he finally
went to Jerusalem (which was in the area of Judea). He spent 15-days
with Peter at that time (verse 18) and briefly saw James, the
half-brother of Jesus, as stated in this verse. It's interesting
that we often look for credentials that come from men, such as the
rite of ordination. That's fine but if the ordination is not from
God, it is worthless to all concerned.
Verse 20. "(Now in what I am writing to you, I assure you
before God that I am not lying.)"
Paul previously had been living a
lie (he denied Jesus Christ, who is the truth). His life had been
purportedly to do the work of God in the world, but in so doing, he
attacked God's people and thwarted God's plan. He had lived a lie,
but then he met Jesus Christ. Actually, Paul was surprised
(astonished) when Jesus Christ personally met HIM on the road to
Damascus.
His whole life came apart in the
moment when he met the One who is "the truth" (John 14:6). And of
course, when you let the very Person into your life, who is the
basis of all truth; you suddenly and/or gradually will yourself
become true. That was Paul's experience and we can sing with him of
God's amazing grace, "I once was lost but now am found; was blind
but now I see." Our Lord is indeed amazing and wonderful, and He has
a call for your life and mine.
Verse 21. "Then I went into the regions of Syria and
Cilicia."
The Syrians were originally the Aramaeans, descendants of Aram,
the son of Shem, "cousins" to those of Israel. But so much
interbreeding had occurred within the region that it was impossible
to tell precisely just who or what anybody was by that time. Paul
went into Syria, a land of Gentiles, where he stayed for three
years. Cilicia was another province in Asia Minor. Paul was from
that place ("I am a Jew from Tarsus in Cilicia" - Acts 21:39) and a
part of this 3-years was a going home to his roots.
Verse 22. "I was still unknown by sight to the churches of
Judea which were in Christ;"
From the time of Paul's conversion
(Acts 9:1 & forward) until he met Peter and James (Galatians
1:18-19), three years had passed. Very few, except those two men,
even knew what Paul looked like, though there likely were
exceptions. Previously, operating with written permission from the
Jewish leaders, Paul (Saul) had been entering homes and dragging men
and women off to prison. Their crime? - they believed in the Lord
Jesus Christ.
Obviously, those who had been
arrested would remember him very well, but it was also probable they
were still imprisoned and some (perhaps many) had died because of
their arrests. Paul's point here was that he did not get his
commission to preach from men, but instead it came from God; and his
point was well taken. We need ministers who are sent by God - too
many are merely sent out by human leaders.
Verse 23. "but only, they kept hearing, 'He who once
persecuted us is now preaching the faith which he once tried to
destroy.'"
They had HEARD of Paul; that was
for sure. This was the man who had been entering the homes of
Christians and arresting them - sending them off to prison. He was
the enemy personified and everybody hoped he would NOT knock on
their door. Certainly they knew ABOUT him, but the lucky ones had
not met him in person, and very few knew his face.
Jesus Christ changes lives. Often
the changes are subtle – seen clearly by God but not perceived as
well by people. That is because the changes often are slow in
occurring, like the opening of a flower. And at some point, we look
back and discover that God has been doing a WONDROUS work in our
lives. Paul was changed by the Lord, and God has the same intention
for you.
Verse 24. "And they were glorifying God because of me."
There were lots of reasons why they
glorified God in what had happened to this man Saul (a.k.a. Paul).
Christ had taken their arch enemy (Saul) and changed him into a
friend. He started using his Gentile name of Paul, which he would
not do before, because he had previously hated those who were not
Jewish. The real change about this man, was INSIDE - he was
fundamentally changed into a man of God.
When Christ took hold of him, he
became literally a new man. They glorified God because of him,
partly because they were now safe from his clutches. They also gave
God the glory because they saw the reality of the risen Christ in
what had happened to him. And they glorified our Lord because He is
full of grace, reaching out to ALL and receiving those who simply
trust in Him. People like you and me can be made NEW in Christ
Jesus.
Ron Beckham, Pastor
Friday Study Ministries
www.fridaystudy.org
ron@fridaystudy.org
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